Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (Nintendo DS)

Having been a fan of the Dragon quest monsters series for many years now, I eagerly awaited the Uk release of DQM: J2. Having played it's predecessors I knew exactly what to expect from the title, and where improvements should have been made. Having now completed a bulk of the game I feel I can now make a well rounded judgement of the game without being influenced by boyhood nostalgia. I will begin by saying DQM: J2 is the greatest game of the franchise to date (In my opinion). However, this does not mean the game is without it's faults. Graphically, the game has made very little progress from it's direct prequel; DQM: J. Some of the textures and shading have been improved but that's about it. This is not entirely a bad thing considering the game is meant to feel very cell-shaded and artistic. The music/sound offered in DQM: J2 suffers from the same complex. It is all very reminiscent of previous titles, but yet again fans of the franchise will probably enjoy this rather than find it a negative. The game's strongest points are by far it's game play and dialogue. Once again Square-Enix have outdone themselves in terms of creating an intriguing plot full of witty dialogue and charming characters that appeal to gamers of all ages. I have sunk around 30 hours into the game and would consider myself only around half way to completion. This game is literally bursting to the seams with the number of monsters it offers. To summarise, DQM: J2 is a fantastic game that provides hours of entertainment, although it hasn't really progressed from games gone by.